Repair Work

NCDOT is in the process of making repairs to the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which spans the Oregon Inlet and connects Hatteras Island to the mainland, in Dare County.

Crews completed repairs to the bridge’s subcaps and pile jackets on March 28, 2008. A subcap is a piece of concrete that is placed on top of an existing cap on a piling to help support a bridge’s load. A pile jacket is a steel and concrete structure that wraps around a piling to reinforce it. The six-month project cost $531,594.

Repairs to the bridge’s concrete started on March 31, 2008 and remain under way. Crews are chipping out the deteriorated concrete using jackhammers and replacing it with shotcrete. Shotcrete is concrete applied at high pressure, which adheres quickly and easily to the existing structure. The work is scheduled to continue through November 2010 at a cost of $14.7 million.

Work is scheduled within the next 12 months to rehabilitate the bridge's fender system. Comprised of wood and steel, the fender system surrounds the pilings and works like a buffer between the concrete bridge and oncoming vessels, protecting the bridge in case of watercraft impact. The project is expected to take about six months to complete and cost about $210,400.

To see pictures of the repair work, check out the Bonner Bridge Photo Gallery.

Press Release(s)

9/24/2008	FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT SIGNED FOR BONNER BRIDGE
5/8/2007	NCDOT Recommends Short-Bridge Phased Alternative for Bonner Bridge Replacement
1/11/2007	Bonner Bridge In-Depth Structural Condition Assessment Complete

An in-depth structural condition assessment of the bridge completed in December 2006 determined what repairs were needed for the bridge to remain in service without weight restrictions for the next 10 years.

The assessment gave the 45-year-old bridge a sufficiency rating of two out of 100. The formula used to establish the rating evaluates the factors that indicate a bridge’s sufficiency to remain in service. The result is a percentage in which 100 percent represents an entirely sufficient bridge and zero percent represents an entirely deficient bridge.

The sufficiency rating for the Bonner Bridge results from three main factors:

• Soil erosion has occurred over time around the original pilings on the south end of the bridge, and support pilings have been added;
• The bridge is not wide enough for the traffic volume it carries; and
• Motorists would have to take a 100-mile detour if the bridge had to be taken out of service.

Although the Bonner Bridge is classified under the federal definition as "structurally deficient," it is safe for the traveling public in its current condition. The bridge repair work will ensure it continues to serve as a viable transportation link to the Outer Banks until it is replaced.

For more information about bridge inspections, ratings and terminology, please visit our North Carolina Bridge Information Web site.

Coastal Gunite Construction Co. will not close or narrow any lanes of N.C. 12 for repair work on weekends between June 15 and Sept. 16. The contractor can close the lanes Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Bridge History

The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge opened to traffic in April 1963 to much fanfare from travelers who had previously relied on ferries to carry them across Oregon Inlet. McLean Contracting Co. of Baltimore constructed the 2.4-mile span, which links Hatteras Island to the mainland. For more than 45 years, the bridge has provided a key connection for the transport of goods and services and the mobility of residents and tourists.

The bridge is named for Herbert Covington Bonner, a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina. Bonner was born in Washington, N.C. on May 16, 1891. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, he worked as a salesman and a farmer. In 1940, he was elected to Congress, and he served in the House of Representatives until his death in November 1965.

Bridge Replacement Plans

Planning studies required by federal law are currently under way for the replacement of the Bonner Bridge. The study area for the replacement project includes the existing bridge over Oregon Inlet and a section of N.C. 12 between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe.

The N.C. Department of Transportation looked at a total of seven detailed study alternatives within two corridors before selecting the preferred alternative, known as the Parallel Bridge with Phased Approach/Rodanthe Bridge Alternative. The preferred alternative includes constructing a new Oregon Inlet bridge (Phase I) west of the existing structure and later elevating N.C. 12 onto a series of bridges during Phases II-IV.

In August 2007, an interagency group reached concurrence that this approach was the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative. Joining NCDOT in this decision were the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

NCDOT spent more than a year examining the potential social, economic and environmental impacts related to the preferred alternative. Engineers reported their findings in a 1,300-page document called the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The FEIS includes information that was previously published in the 2005 Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the 2007 Supplement to the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, as well as responses to the comments NCDOT received on those documents. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires NCDOT to complete an FEIS before it can move forward with construction on a federally funded project.

NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration signed the FEIS in September 2008. The agencies plan to complete the final planning document, the Record of Decision, by the end of the year.

The design/build contract for Phase I is scheduled to be let in spring 2009. Replacement of the Oregon Inlet bridge is expected to be complete in 2014. The schedule for construction of the N.C. 12 bridges will be based on coastal conditions and the availability of funds.

The project is estimated to cost between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion, which includes construction and maintenance costs through the year 2060.

For detailed information about this project, including copies of planning documents and public hearing maps, please see the Bonner Bridge News & Updates page. The FEIS is posted under “Environmental Impact Studies.”

Copies of the FEIS will also be available at the following locations by Oct. 6: Dare County public libraries in Hatteras Village, Kill Devil Hills and Manteo; the Fessenden Recreation Center in Buxton; the Dare County Planning and Inspections satellite office in Buxton; the Dare County Manager’s office and the U.S. Post Office at 25969 N.C. 12 in Rodanthe. Anyone wishing to comment on the FEIS must do so by Monday, Oct. 27